MANILA, Philippines?Forget your digital cameras.

A new camera shop is opening its doors tonight?and in this store, pixels and memory cards don?t matter.

Walk into Oh Shoot! Toy Camera Shop and the first thing you?d notice are the walls. They are covered with vivid and colorful images?lomographs by the members of Lomomanila, a big group of local lomographers who share a love for film photography and plastic cameras.

The second thing you?ll notice are the boxes. Big, wooden and stamped with intriguing words like ?Frogeye,? ?Fisheye,? ?Oktomat,? and ?LC-A,? they contain the store?s stocks?different kinds of film cameras and accessories that would make any toy camera enthusiast salivate.

Hooked

Skilled lomographer and regular Super photogapher Jill Lejano runs this shop. Jill started using toy cameras in 2003, after seeing a Lomomanila exhibit. ?I was hooked. I bought an Actionsampler?that was my first lomo camera.? Since then, Jill has built an impressive collection of cameras. She likes how they produce unexpected results. ?A toy camera is like a box of surprises?the pictures are always astonishing,? Jill said.

She decided to open Oh Shoot! out of the desire to share her love for toy cameras with other people. ?I?ve seen how other toy camera fans have a hard time getting their hands on new cams?most of which aren?t available in local stores. We have to ask relatives abroad, we buy online, we spend hours and hours on Ebay,? Jill said. ?I wanted to make things a little easier for the people who share my passion.?

Oh Shoot! has taken care of putting together the best and most fun toy cameras from around the world in one shop?including Lomo cameras and the Superheadz cameras from Japan. ?There are many different kinds of toy cameras?some that are very easy to use, some that require a little more skill. It doesn?t matter if you?re new and curious or if you?re an old pro, there?s a toy camera that?s perfect for you.?

And if you?re worried that a visit to Oh Shoot! will cause a dent in your pocket, think again. The cameras come in a wide range of prices?some more affordable than the others.

Toy camera love

Because Jill wants to spread toy camera love all over the country, those who live outside Metro Manila can log on to www.ohshoot.us to order their cameras. The shop also offers gift-wrapping and delivery services if you want to give someone the gift of lomo.

People who don?t know which camera to buy and those who need advice about cameras they already own can turn to Oh Shoot!?s toy camera counseling service which is offered on the shop?s website.

One great way to figure out which camera you?d love is by looking at pictures taken by other toy camera photographers. You can do just that this month at Oh Shoot! where Lomomanila?s exhibit Lomo Spotted is currently running (exhibit ends on June 20). Jill said, ?The colorful and dreamy images take you to that fleeting moment when the photos were taken. This wall is a celebration of the bliss of spotting everyday objects that can be immortalized on film.?

Jill doesn?t want people to just think of Oh Shoot! as a place where people can buy cameras. ?This is a venue where passions meet, where creative souls are armed with tools with which to express themselves, where people can come and realize why so many of us are embracing the magic of film photography.?

Oh Shoot! is open on Mondays to Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shop, which will begin regular operations on Tuesday, May 20, is located at the Loft of Unit G-B, Murphy Center, 187 Boni Serrano Road, Quezon City, Philippines. Visit www.ohshoot.us or e-mail info@ohshoot.us. To know more about lomography, visit www.lomomanila.ph.